xrealm party-time

[tethealla]

This blue post showed up today. I don't know how many of you it will affect.

With the continued popularity of the Dungeon Finder, many players have been asking for a way to group up with real-life friends who play on other realms to take on instances together. Today, we wanted to give you a heads up about a new feature currently in development that will allow players to invite Real ID friends of the same faction to a party regardless of the realm they play on, and then queue up for a 5-player regular or Heroic dungeon.

As this is a fairly complex service to develop, we don’t have a release date to share quite yet. It’s important to note that as with some of the other convenience- and connectivity-oriented features we offer, certain elements of the cross-realm Real ID party system will be premium-based, though only the player sending the invitations will need to have access to the premium service. We'll have more details to share with you as development progresses -- in the meantime, you may begin to see elements of the feature appear on the World of Warcraft PTR.

Since I was a cross-realm transfer to Uldum, I'm excited about this change. I've been waiting for it ever since the Real ID system was put in place. I mean if I can chat with my friends on other realms and randomly get into parties with them via the dungeon finder, why can't I just invite them?

Now the other aspect of this is a precedent they're setting. Never before have they charged a premium for in-game use of in-game functionality. The closest is the wow remote client where you can your remote client can have an in-game effect.

So paying extra or not paying extra to being able to invite x-realm friends to a party doesn't help/hinder game progression really. What I worry about where this might lead in the future. Today is x-realm parties, tomorrow is premium content.... Oh, you can't get into that raid because it's premium.... or you don't get access to that hero class because it's a premium. This is what worries me.

[janin]

I currently have RealID disabled, but this feature is probably enough to get me to switch it on. I hope they include the ability to join raids, not just normal and heroic instances.

I agree that there's a slippery slope associated with premium content, but I suspect Bliz understands that their bread-and-butter is monthly subscriptions and not premium services, so they wont risk their base by making premium "required".

Adam

[Eisengrad]

You mean like how I couldn't raid Ice Crown or try a Death Knight if I only bought Vanilla + BC? They're already gating 'premium content' for pay. It's called an expansion.

As you noted, the main difference here is paying for in-game functionality, which I think is a bad PR move, but it's their game. Meh. Almost all my friends from other servers have stopped playing.

If WoW were to convert to free-to-play, I could see how they _might_ start charging for individual tiers of raiding content, but really that's just chopping an entire expansion that cost $50 into itty bitty pieces. If they dropped the price accordingly ($5-10) per tier, it might work. At this point, they seem pretty set on staying with the traditional monthly sub setup.

[Pocky]

I'd prefer for the RealID invite ability to be free, but I do understand their making it a pay-for option.

I do not think they'll turn the content (individual dungeons, etc.) into a pay-for option (beyond expansions, which is different yet the same as a F2P model) for at least several years, if ever. The system is primarily set up for open access; all of the limits they have right now are key (expansions), ability (flight) and level-based (expansion areas). Adding to that would be a fairly large undertaking, and by the time it becomes cost-effective and useful to do that, the game will likely have other issues.

I'm admittedly biased, since I work(ed) in the free-to-play, pay for stuff game industry.

People mention a "slippery slope", but it's not really slippery, nor a slope. If a company has made the decision to gate gameplay for a fee, then it's a major decision, not just "hey, we can get more money this way". Doing so requires an immense amount of database tweaking and game server changes. LotTO and DnDO did these changes because they looked at the numbers, and realized that they could save their games by going free-to-play, and possibly make more money. They wouldn't have changed, or even just gated content for money, if there were stable otherwise.

Here's a formula many of us in the F2P industry use to estimate revenue:

Total population x 10 to 12% (the percent of the population that generally pays in a F2P game) = revenue

So, assuming Blizzard makes 8m (my guess at the US population) times $12 (assuming some people go with 3 or 6 month subs) a month, that's a monthly revenue stream of $96m.

To make $96m a month, they would need 800,000,000 players or so.

Granted, WoW is an anomaly, and they would probably have a higher percentage of paying players, but still, it doesn't make sense for them to go "pay for content" any time soon.

*wheeze, gasp*

Sorry, I'm pretty passionate about F2P not being evil/wrong/greedy. >.>;

EDIT: Cutting dungeons and similar content into pieces would actually bad, because in a game like WoW, which is based around group-play for the end game (raids, BGs, arenas), it would cause too much strife between players (well, worse than now) because not everyone would have access to the same dungeons (skill and gear not withstanding). Not everyone would necessarily buy the same dungeons/raids, so they'd have to make a system to check for that, which costs more money, etc.

[Eisengrad]

Hmm... good points. I don't mind the f2p model and I'd love to see STO go f2p (as Champions did) because while I like some parts of that game, what its currently offering isn't worth the monthly sub to me.

[tethealla]

I have no problems with the F2P model. I'm actually happy that DDO went F2P because my friend is playing DDO now where he'd never have played prior. I've heard great things about Spiral Knights from not only you guys but others as well. F2P is a wonderful model.

My worries aren't that wow will go F2P. You said it correctly, wow is an anomaly. My problem is that wow will do BOTH models... and we'll have a subscription fee, and a F2P style, premium fee if we want extra content. It is true that expansion packs can be viewed this way. This last xpac was $50? $60? I paid extra for the pet/cd, so I guess I shouldn't be the one talking here. In any case, at $12/mo * 1.5yrs = $216. $50 is around 25-30%.

So will they now do have 3 models? monthly fee, sunk cost fee every 1.5 years, and a premium monthly fee?

In any case, I'm probably their premium audience. I buy their collectors edition xpacs. I pay for my wow account even when I'm on breaks. They even just got me to sign up for wow remote.... and finally I'll probably sign up for their x-realm party time when it comes out. The only thing I haven't done is open multiple accounts... although I have wow+bc+LK boxes sitting there waiting for me to do so.

[Eisengrad]

I agree with Adam and Pocky. Just not seeing in the near future how they could (or would) charge for content in addition to monthly subs w/o major structural changes. The current system is straightforward, and they get $50 for a bulk content purchase. They're looking for additional revenue opportunities (note that your WoW sub in 2004 dollars really would be $17.17/mo now if pegged to inflation) in a way that doesn't upset that structure.

I see them monetizing more and more outside services (and cosmetic items) that are 'wants.' They could bundle the services into a premium sub for $X/mo and continually expand this over time to make it more attractive.

[Pocky]

I have no problems with the F2P model. I'm actually happy that DDO went F2P because my friend is playing DDO now where he'd never have played prior. I've heard great things about Spiral Knights from not only you guys but others as well. F2P is a wonderful model.

My worries aren't that wow will go F2P. You said it correctly, wow is an anomaly. My problem is that wow will do BOTH models... and we'll have a subscription fee, and a F2P style, premium fee if we want extra content. It is true that expansion packs can be viewed this way. This last xpac was $50? $60? I paid extra for the pet/cd, so I guess I shouldn't be the one talking here. In any case, at $12/mo * 1.5yrs = $216. $50 is around 25-30%.

So will they now do have 3 models? monthly fee, sunk cost fee every 1.5 years, and a premium monthly fee?

In any case, I'm probably their premium audience. I buy their collectors edition xpacs. I pay for my wow account even when I'm on breaks. They even just got me to sign up for wow remote.... and finally I'll probably sign up for their x-realm party time when it comes out. The only thing I haven't done is open multiple accounts... although I have wow+bc+LK boxes sitting there waiting for me to do so.

I don't think they will start doing the "extra content for extra money", outside of the expansions. That model is generally only used when you know you will have a large population of free players who are happy with what they have, but know that you have more hard-core players who want more content, and fast. In some systems, the new content would be made available to the free players either by waiting (several months to a year) or by saving up in-game money/currency of some sort. In others, it will only be made available to the people who buy it.

But Blizzard makes more money by making it all-inclusive (again, raiding notwithstanding).

Here's an example I just thought of.

Blizzard charges $15 a month for an All-You-Can-Eat buffet. It's more expensive than F2Ps down the road, but you can (theoretically) get to everything. That is their big draw.

F2P's is all pick-and-choose, so their average meal ends up being cheaper, but you don't get nearly as much. But their average diner is okay with less options (content) being available.

If Blizzard adds a "toppings bar" (pets and services) that requires you to pay more, on top of their buffet, they will keep most of their customers, because toppings are nice, but not 100% necessary.

But if they take a chunk of the buffet (that was available to everyone) and put it behind a velvet rope with a sign that says, "$1 extra", they will lose a lot of customers. And new customers will say, "Hey, didn't this ALL used to be $15?" and possibly not come to eat.

I can see Blizzard doing a lot of things potentially - cosmetic items (including special hair and skin colors and styles), pets, mounts, other random services. But I don't see them doing content - it doesn't make sense financially, since they would have to a) make a lot of backend changes, b) make a lot of internal policy changes (they'd have to make the instances DAMN COOL to make them worth extra money, which would potentially spiral into "buying victory"), and c) hurt their reputation for "everything is available, if you work for it".

I've thought about this a lot, since I've applied there several times. >.>;

[tethealla]

OK I do have to agree. It's unlikely blizzard will walk down this path. They've been very careful to not cross the real money / virtual money boundary... Pocky called it Buying Victory. I like that phrase. Everything you can buy with real money is cosmetic... except the mounts (TCG/celestial mount), but saving 100g is minimal.

If they sold new content and it ended up being easier than normal, you are paying to gear up faster.... They are crossing that boundary. That's just a step or two from selling you a sword and then they are no better than the gold sellers they vehemently fight against.

[tethealla]

http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/238 ... or-Testing

When delving into the depths of Azeroth's darkest dungeons, it always helps to have some friends at your side... now you're able to issue a call to arms no matter what realm they play on. We're pleased to announce the new Real ID Party feature is now available for testing! This new feature will allow World of Warcraft players to invite their real-life Real ID friends of the same faction to a party regardless of the realm they play on, and then queue up for a 5-player regular or Heroic dungeon.

To learn more about Real ID, please visit the Real ID web page and read the FAQ.

For more information about how the Real ID Party system works, check out the FAQ below.

Real ID Party Feature – Test Phase FAQ

Q: What is the Real ID Party feature?
A: Players can now invite Real ID friends of the same faction to a 5-player normal or Heroic dungeon group, regardless of what realm their friends are on. This system is designed to make it easier for real-life friends to play together.

Q: How do I invite Real ID friends to a Real ID party?
A: Inviting a Real ID friend to a Real ID Party is simple. Just open up your Friends list to see which Real ID friends are online. Click on the “Plus” button to send an invitation to a Real ID friend to join your group. You can continue to add Real ID friends to your party until the group is complete. If you cannot complete the group with Real ID friends, you are free to join the Dungeon Finder to fill in the missing roles.

Q: Does a player need to have Real ID enabled to accept a Real ID group invite?
A: Yes, a player must have Real ID enabled, and both players must be Real ID friends to accept or initiate Real ID party invitations.

Q: Can a party leader invite a mix of Real ID friends, character-level friends, guildmates, or random players to the same party?
A: A party leader can invite any combination of Real ID friends from any realm, guildmates from the same realm, or other characters from the same realm to the same party. If the party leader isn’t able to fill up the entire party, the Dungeon Finder can fill in the missing roles.

Q: Can I invite someone who is not a Real ID friend?
A: You can only invite members to a party if they are on your Real ID friends list or if they are on the same realm as you are.

Q: Can I invite a friend of a Real ID friend?
A: No, you can only invite those who are Real ID friends with you directly to the party.

Q: How long will the testing period last?
A: We haven’t yet determined how long the testing period will last. We'll keep you updated on the status and inform you when the test period is going to end in the future.

Q: Will aspects of the Real ID Party system be premium-based?
A: We'll have information on the premium-based aspects of the Real ID Party system toward the end of the testing period.

This makes me a happy. I can now play with the few friends I left behind on my old server.

My only question is what happens is if I pass party leader? If I add a few RealID friends, and then pass PL to a friend, can they fill the rest of the party with their friends/ppl from their realm?